AUSTIN - Senate Republicans Friday pushed through strict new abortions laws, claiming victory in a contentious battle at the Legislature and making Texas one of the toughest states in which to have the procedure.

The Senate voted 19-11 to pass the bill. They made good on a vow from the state's top two leaders to pass the bill after it was derailed by a filibuster and raucous protests in the gallery last month.

Democrats had conceded that they couldn't stop the Republican-majority Senate from passing the legislation this time.

The heart of the legislation would ban most abortions at 20 weeks. It would also require costly upgrades to Texas abortion clinics, require doctors to have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals and would limit a woman's ability to abortion-inducing pills.

Opponents have slammed the legislation as a de facto ban on abortion, arguing it would force most clinics across the state to shutter. Supporters argue the bill is needed to protect women's health and to keep fetuses from feeling pain.

"I believe … that this bill raises the standard of care for women in Texas," said Sen. Glenn Hegar, R-Katy, the bill's Senate sponsor.

Democrats said a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the law is imminent.

"Don't you realize that federal courts have recognized that abortion is a federally protected constitutional right?" asked Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston. "It's just going to be struck down."

A circus-like atmosphere engulfed the Capitol again Friday, with thousands of activists on both sides turning out to scream and chant. Abortion-rights activists roared in the Capitol rotunda for hours during the Senate debate while anti-abortion activists wore blue and held images of fetuses and Bible verses.

In the Senate gallery - where a crowd erupted in the closing minutes of the first special session, preventing the bill from passing - at least 40 state troopers stood guard. To prevent activists from throwing objects onto the Senate floor, troopers confiscated a range of items, including tampons.